Bart Simpson, Scientologist.

Someone on a music-biz listserv posted an item about Nancy Cartwright, who voices Bart Simpson on the long-running (too long, methinks) Fox cartoon. Apparently, Cartwright is an avowed enemy of Intergalactic Overlord Xenu, which is to say she’s a Scientologist.

Nothing wrong with that, right? After all, adult-oriented animation has a history of employing Scientologist talent (see the late Issac Hayes on “South Park”). Well, Cartwright may have gotten herself in hot water with “Simpsons” producers for recording a Scientology robocall to advertise an upcoming cult event. The Live Feed has the deets:

Though [Cartwright] takes care to identify herself by her real name and not her character, she uses the Bart voice at a few points in the recording.

“This is not authorized by us,” said “Simpsons” executive producer Al Jean. “‘The Simpsons’ does not, and never has, endorsed any religion, philosophy or system of beliefs any more profound than Butterfinger bars.” (Okay, it’s not Jean’s wittiest line).

The move is not only unauthorized, of course, but almost certainly violates Cartwright’s contract. Though Fox is remaining mum on the subject, and their legal department is very much looking into the matter, the “Simpsons” characters are owned by Fox. Sure, Scientology is a non-profit group (ahem), but it doesn’t matter (a Fox vs. the Church of Scientology lawsuit over the misuse of Bart Simpson? Oh-please, oh-please, oh-please. . .).

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About the author

Casey Rae
Casey Rae is the Chief Executive Officer of the Future of Music Coalition. He is also a musician, recording engineer, educator and author. Casey regularly speaks on issues such as emerging business models, creators' rights, technology policy and intellectual property at major conferences, universities and in the media. He has testified before Congress on artist rights and is committed to building bridges across sectors in order to identify possible solutions to common challenges. Casey has written dozens of articles on the impact of technology on the creative community in scholarly journals and other publications, and is a regular commentator on the impact of technology on creators in media outlets such as NPR, Washington Post, New York Times, Politico, Billboard, L.A. Times, Gizmodo, The Hill, Ars Technica, Sirius XM Radio and more. Casey is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, and is the President of the Board of the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture. He is the principal of Heru.us, a media, technology and policy consultancy. In his "spare time," he runs the DC-based label Lux Eterna Records and publishes The Contrarian Media.